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New Girl Postmortem: It Finally Happened! What's Next for Nick and Jess?

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Tuesday's episode of New Girl! Read at your own risk.]

Are you OK, New Girl fans? Because we're almost too excited for words!

On Tuesday'sepisode Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick (Jake Johnson) were locked in a room and forced to kiss -- but only because of the rules of Strip True American! But because Nick didn't want their first kiss to go down like that, he waited for the right moment later that night to pull Jess in for the smooch of a lifetime (Can someone please send us a .gif?!)

But what does it mean? Will Nick and Jess finally begin their long-awaited relationship? Will the rest of the roommates find out? And what does this mean for Jess' relationship with Sam (David Walton) — and Jess' upcoming love interest in Shameless' Steve Howey! To get the scoop, TVGuide.com caught up with series creator Liz Meriwether to grill her on what's in store for one of our favorite TV couples.

Nick and Jess finally kissed! Liz Meriwether: It's crazy, right? We were really nervous. We decided to do the kiss and we didn't know what it was going to be like. They did it, and we were all freaking out. I showed it to some girls on staff and all of us just started screaming a little bit, middle school style. The first time they kissed on set, the whole crew applauded.

Have you been waiting for this moment from the beginning? Meriwether: We didn't have a plan, as we usually do on this show. [Laughs] We were just going along with the season and it just felt like the right time. The first draft of the episode was that they actually didn't kiss at the end. We felt like it was just time. It was an unexpected twist that felt like it was organic to where they were in their friendship because they've spent the whole season getting closer and closer. I just really wanted it to happen, to be totally honest.

How does this moment change their relationship? Meriwether: There was worry that somehow if we brought them together some of the air was going to go out of the show. We're about to shoot Episode 19, so we're four episodes past this one, and it's the opposite. It's actually really helped us focus the show. It's just made it really exciting because there's this extra layer of subtext to everything they do. It's not just them jumping into a relationship. There are a lot of obstacles to that. But now it feels like Pandora's Box has been opened, in a good way. ... There are external obstacles, like she has a boyfriend and they live together, but there are a lot of internal obstacles for them. They're oil and water a little bit. They don't have a peaceful, happy relationship. They're always fighting and at each other's throats, so a lot of that is actually stirred up by the kiss. For the rest of the season, they're going to be dealing with a lot of those obstacles inside them, and also the fact that they're roommates.

Where does the next episode pick up? Meriwether: It's that night, so it's almost a continuation of that night.

Will other people find out about this kiss, because they're putting the whole roommate dynamic in danger? Meriwether: Yeah, that's definitely the feeling.I don't think Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Winston (Lamorne Morris) are super psyched about it.

Jess is going to have another love interest in Steve Howey's Jax. Will Nick get any new love interests? Meriwether: Yes, we haven't cast the girl yet.

What's the purpose of these other love interests? Is it to keep them apart longer, or are there feelings they need to deal with first? Meriwether: I think they have a lot to sort out. They're trying to run away from each other pretty hard after it happens and part of Steve Howey coming on is Jess trying to get away from Nick. We're going to take that through the end of the season. They'll run away and come back, run away and come back. They're definitely not together. That didn't actually feel organic. I don't think they're ready to be together. I think there's too much stuff that they'd have to work through.

So is that where the season is heading? A finale where they decide whether or not to be together? Meriwether: We're actually figuring that out right now in the writers' room. Yes, I feel like that's obviously a huge question going to the end of the season.

Do you want to see Nick and Jess get together? Are you happy they finally kissed? Hit the comments!